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The Decelerator: How Do You Shut Down A Startup?

(NPR) — The Shut Down's goal is to build a single, open source resource that guides anyone who needs to shut down their startup through a customizable checklist.

By one measure, between 30% to 40% of all startups fail. So how do you actually go about closing down shop?

Figuring out what to do if your startup doesn't take off? That's another challenge, says Abigail Edgecliffe-Johnson.

Her goal is to build a single, open source resource that guides anyone who needs to shut down their startup through a customizable checklist.

Hundreds of thousands of new businesses get started every year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But between 30% to 40% of all startups fail, according to Harvard Business School, meaning the company liquidates all assets and investors lose most or all of the money they put into the venture. The numbers climb as high as 80 percent if you measure failure by whether a startup reaches its projected return on investment.